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US Militarism and Sisyphian “Aid†to Israel/Palestine

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  • Jennifer C. Olmsted

Abstract

What can we learn about militarism by looking at aid patterns through the lens of Greek myth? The story of Sisyphus emphasizes him being fated to repeating the same monumental task for eternity as a punishment for his cruelty and arrogance. Using the case of Israel/Palestine, I examine the history of the provision of US military aid to Israel, a highly militarized, high-income country, as well as tracing official development assistance to the Palestinians, which, I illustrate, primarily and very ineffectively serves to “correct†Israel’s punitive actions. A focus on US aid exposes the complicity of the United States in terms of perpetuating a horrific cycle of violence, as well as providing details concerning who gains and who loses from these expenditures. Where data are available, I also identify some gendered impacts of both the aid expenditures and violence. I conclude by arguing that reparations are required to address the historic and ongoing damage inflicted on Palestinians through US/Israeli militarism and that such reparations need to focus on intersectional vulnerability. JEL Classification: F35, N45, H56, I3

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer C. Olmsted, 2025. "US Militarism and Sisyphian “Aid†to Israel/Palestine," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 57(2), pages 266-281, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:57:y:2025:i:2:p:266-281
    DOI: 10.1177/04866134251334443
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    foreign aid; Israel; Palestine; militarism; reparations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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